SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER_00: At Crosschurch, we believe people need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: People need each other.
SPEAKER_00: People change the world.
SPEAKER_00: And people leave legacies.
SPEAKER_00: Our desire is for you to understand, accept, and grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.
SPEAKER_00: If you would like to know more about Crosschurch, please visit CrossChurch.com.
SPEAKER_01: If you got your copy of God's Word, grab it.
SPEAKER_01: Isaiah chapter 14, kind of right there near the middle of your Bible, is where we're going to be today.
SPEAKER_01: And uh we are going to uh round up our series today called This Means War, where we're talking about the seven battles of spiritual warfare.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we have named this series intentionally that uh you are in a war, you gotta fight.
SPEAKER_01: And for some of you, that is not your nature at all.
SPEAKER_01: You say, Well, Nick, I'm a lover, not a fighter.
SPEAKER_01: Well, this is one area of your life where you've got to be aggressive, or else you will get dominated by the enemy.
SPEAKER_01: And you do have an enemy.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, his name is Satan.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll notice every one of these weeks of these uh this sermon series, it has begun with the word satanic.
SPEAKER_01: And uh today that will continue as we talk about satanic ambition here in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: You have an enemy in Satan who wants to do everything he can to ruin your life and to uh for you to never become all that God wants you to be.
SPEAKER_01: And so the Bible tells us that Satan was an angel who, because of his prideful ambition, was cast out of his heaven because he wanted to be like God.
SPEAKER_01: And so, as I said, we're gonna talk about that very principle today about satanic ambition.
SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna do this through the lens of looking at two different kings in the Old Testament who were under the judgment of God because of their ungodly ambition.
SPEAKER_01: You got that?
SPEAKER_01: Two Old Testament kings who were under the judgment of God.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because of unholy and ungodly ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Now, ambition can be right and ambition can be wrong.
SPEAKER_01: I would even add this ambition can often be misleading.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, my freshman year of college uh was just coming back from the Christmas break for the spring semester.
SPEAKER_01: And uh Meredith and I were not dating yet, but we were friends, kind of in the same friend group.
SPEAKER_01: And uh that day we were driving back into uh Virginia where we went to school.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we got a call from somebody that said, Hey, Meredith was at cheer practice.
SPEAKER_01: She was a cheerleader at Liberty University, which is the world's most exciting Christian university.
SPEAKER_01: Just a little plug there.
SPEAKER_01: And uh so uh she was a cheerleader there and she was at practice.
SPEAKER_01: She had to be there a little bit earlier than everybody else for cheer.
SPEAKER_01: And so they were at a at a practice and doing like a pyramid thing, and she was in the middle.
SPEAKER_01: So, like somebody was holding her, and then on top, she was holding somebody else, and the pyramid crumbled and she fell and landed like this.
SPEAKER_01: And the person on top landed on her knee and tore her ACL that night.
SPEAKER_01: And so she went to the hospital that night, and me and a roommate or two went over there and um, you know, realized what had happened.
SPEAKER_01: And so we got her back to the dorm, and she was like in the passenger seat of uh of the car.
SPEAKER_01: And I thought, well, I mean, now's a great time to make a move.
SPEAKER_01: And uh, and so I got out of the car and I was like, listen, I'll I'll carry you to the dorm because it was a little bit of a walk.
SPEAKER_01: And so I pick her up like this, and you know, her legs are stretched out because freshly torn ACL, and I picked her up, and when I swung her this way, banged her freshly torn ACL into the car door.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that great?
SPEAKER_01: 21 years.
SPEAKER_01: That's all I gotta say.
SPEAKER_01: 21 years.
SPEAKER_01: Find a girl who's hurt, take her home from the hospital, bang the hurt part of her body against the door, you'll get married, I promise.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: And so uh ambition in the moment led me astray.
SPEAKER_01: I had the ambition to do something sweet, to do something a little suave, and uh it turned bad in a in a hurry, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Ambition can be healthy and it can be unhealthy.
SPEAKER_01: Do we all agree on that?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, every parent in the room wants your child to have a certain level of ambition to do something with their life and ultimately to move out of your home, right?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, or if you're an employer, you want to hire men and women who have the right kind of ambition to like make a difference and to make the company better.
SPEAKER_01: Like, all that's what I would call healthy ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, no parent and no employer want somebody with unhealthy ambition that just tramples over people, uses people, and leaves a you know, a trail of dead bodies in their path in the name of ambition.
SPEAKER_01: And uh that that is often what happens, okay?
SPEAKER_01: I believe there's even what I'll call holy ambition and an unholy ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Jonathan Edwards once said this.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's a perfect description of holy ambition.
SPEAKER_01: He said this resolution one, I will live for God.
SPEAKER_01: Resolution two, if no one does, I still will.
SPEAKER_01: That's the right kind of ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody agree with that?
SPEAKER_01: Right kind of ambition?
SPEAKER_01: An unholy worldly ambition.
SPEAKER_01: John Calvin once called it this.
SPEAKER_01: He said, wherever ambition reigns, there is no integrity.
SPEAKER_01: So if if ambition takes over, like ambition that wins at all cost, uh he says that is a place where no integrity uh is whatsoever.
SPEAKER_01: When it reigns in the heart, an unholy, ungodly, worldly type of ambition, someone will always pay for that kind of ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Could be your family, could be other coworkers, could be extended family, whatever it may be.
SPEAKER_01: Someone will always pay.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I would say: this is what happens with these two kings.
SPEAKER_01: These two kings, all about themselves.
SPEAKER_01: And so, first of all, I want to look at Isaiah chapter 14, and uh we're gonna look at a guy who was known as the king of Babylon.
SPEAKER_01: Now, both of these passages in the Old Testament are uh are prophetic books using prophetic language.
SPEAKER_01: So they're a little honestly difficult to understand if you just do a light reading of them.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I'm gonna do my best to make very complex passages, very simple.
SPEAKER_01: And this one in Isaiah even kind of points to the end of time, what will take place.
SPEAKER_01: But uh, let's begin reading Isaiah chapter 14, and we'll read in verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what Isaiah the prophet says to this king how you are fallen from heaven, O daystar son of Don.
SPEAKER_01: How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low.
SPEAKER_01: You said in your heart, what is what does the king say?
SPEAKER_01: I will ascend to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high.
SPEAKER_01: I will sit on the mount of assembly.
SPEAKER_01: Underline that in your Bible.
SPEAKER_01: I'll come back to that.
SPEAKER_01: In the far reaches of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
SPEAKER_01: I will, this is dangerous, I will make myself like the most high.
SPEAKER_01: But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
SPEAKER_01: Now, there are some who have read Isaiah chapter 14 and have pointed to, okay, this passage is about Satan.
SPEAKER_01: And likewise, as I'm about to read Ezekiel 28 here in just a moment, you're gonna read that passage and see why some people have even pointed to Ezekiel 28 being a passage about Satan.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I would say: here's how you needed to view these two passages, and here's how you need to view these two kings.
SPEAKER_01: These passages are about two real kings, and in the midst of that, it is easy to see the one who is behind them, who is stirring up ungodly, unholy ambition.
SPEAKER_01: And these kings are the exact example of satanic ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Here the Bible calls them, uh, Isaiah referenced, you who lay the nations low.
SPEAKER_01: What he's saying is this this is a mighty military king and a commander who has won battles, but he is about to be brought low.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, that is the end game and the end of the path of every signal and sign of ungodly ambition.
SPEAKER_01: You will be brought low, whether you want to be brought low or not.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I want us to look at the uh the ambition of the king of Babylon.
SPEAKER_01: If you can write like extremely quick, you can write these down.
SPEAKER_01: If not, I'd encourage you to pull your camera out and you may want to take a picture of the screen.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna reference five things he said, just rattle them off.
SPEAKER_01: He said, I will ascend to heaven, I will set my throne on high.
SPEAKER_01: Thirdly, he says, I will sit on the mount of assembly.
SPEAKER_01: I had you underline that.
SPEAKER_01: There was a belief in that day amongst the Canaanites that this is the day and this is the place, the mount of assembly, where the Canaanite gods would gather.
SPEAKER_01: So, so wrong belief as it is, but a belief in that day.
SPEAKER_01: And this king is saying, I will be king over the gods.
SPEAKER_01: Like that's how highly he thinks of himself.
SPEAKER_01: Fourthly, he said, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
SPEAKER_01: And then fifth, he said, I will make myself like the most high.
SPEAKER_01: I will be like God.
SPEAKER_01: Now, you may notice in all five of those statements, what's the common word that we see in all five?
SPEAKER_01: What is it?
SPEAKER_01: First word, I, right?
SPEAKER_01: A lot of eyes in uh in those statements.
SPEAKER_01: I will do this, I will do that.
SPEAKER_01: This is a king who believes in I.
SPEAKER_01: He believes in himself.
SPEAKER_01: He believes in his own power, his own ability, his own self-sufficiency.
SPEAKER_01: And if I could bring a gospel lens to Isaiah chapter 14, here's what I would tell you.
SPEAKER_01: This is the heart of all of us apart from Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: This is why you need Christ.
SPEAKER_01: All of us live with the self-sufficiency of the I mentality.
SPEAKER_01: I am good enough on my own.
SPEAKER_01: I am good enough to go to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: I am good enough to be right with God.
SPEAKER_01: I am better than he is, I am better than she is.
SPEAKER_01: So surely God will love me.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, or here's a big one.
SPEAKER_01: I don't really need God in my life.
SPEAKER_01: No doubt there's somebody here today who that really is your mentality, spoken or unspoken.
SPEAKER_01: I don't really need the Lord in my life.
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of hard only Jesus can redeem.
SPEAKER_01: And the heart that is redeemed by Jesus says things like this I cannot do it myself.
SPEAKER_01: I cannot save myself.
SPEAKER_01: I am not good enough.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a sinner in need of a savior.
SPEAKER_01: And he, not I, he has given his life for me.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's kind of an interesting message where for some of you, you've never taken the step of receiving Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And here in the message about ungodly Old Testament kings who had ungodly, unholy, worldly ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Could it be that you need to give your life to Jesus Christ even here today?
SPEAKER_01: Here's the judgment of God given from Isaiah the prophet to this king.
SPEAKER_01: He says, You are brought down to Sheol.
SPEAKER_01: You say, Well, what is he saying here?
SPEAKER_01: What he's saying is this, in other words, you will not escape death.
SPEAKER_01: And so, so let's uh let's do a little crowd survey here.
SPEAKER_01: Is this a uh a good king or a bad king?
SPEAKER_01: Bad king, right?
SPEAKER_01: Bad king, not turning his heart towards the Lord, only concerned about himself.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: He he will uh here we're gonna learn about the second king.
SPEAKER_01: It's a guy by the name of the king of Tyre.
SPEAKER_01: If you've got your Bible in your lap, just flip over a couple of books to the book of Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_01: Turn to the right, and in about two or three books, you'll hit Ezekiel and turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 28.
SPEAKER_01: Much like Isaiah, Ezekiel was also a prophet.
SPEAKER_01: It's a prophetic book in nature, and he is also pronouncing judgment upon this king, not the king of Babylon, but now the king of Tyre.
SPEAKER_01: And as we read this passage, you're gonna see why many have associated this passage with Satan.
SPEAKER_01: Uh very complex passage.
SPEAKER_01: Again, I'll try to make it simple and hone in on the principle of ambition today.
SPEAKER_01: Ezekiel chapter 28, and look down at verse 12 with me.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God.
SPEAKER_01: So God's saying, Isaiah, tell him this message.
SPEAKER_01: He says, You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
SPEAKER_01: You were in Eden, the garden of God.
SPEAKER_01: Underline that, I'm gonna come back to that.
SPEAKER_01: Every precious stone was your covering, Sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.
SPEAKER_01: On the day that you were created, they were prepared.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14.
SPEAKER_01: You were an anointed guardian cherub.
SPEAKER_01: I placed you.
SPEAKER_01: You were on the holy mountain of God, in the midst of the stones of fire, you walked.
SPEAKER_01: You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
SPEAKER_01: This is where it gets uh interesting.
SPEAKER_01: In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with what?
SPEAKER_01: With violence in your midst, and you sinned.
SPEAKER_01: So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
SPEAKER_01: Your heart was what?
SPEAKER_01: It was proud because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
SPEAKER_01: I cast you to the ground, I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if anybody looks up at me and your eyes are cross-eyed, being like, What in the world did we just read?
SPEAKER_01: That's normal.
SPEAKER_01: Very confusing passage, complex passage.
SPEAKER_01: Again, let's let's focus on the ambition of the king of Tyre in this passage.
SPEAKER_01: Just look at three statements.
SPEAKER_01: See, he says, Isaiah says, You were filled with violence, your heart was proud, and you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, you began to use your wisdom not for the things of God, but you began to use it for yourself.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you look at those five or six verses and you say, Well, what is the message of Ezekiel from the Lord to this king?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what it is You had it all.
SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
SPEAKER_01: He's a king.
SPEAKER_01: You had it all, but your life was ruled by violence.
SPEAKER_01: And through that violence, you accumulated wealth, and you're a prideful man who doesn't live in wisdom, but instead it's all about material gain.
SPEAKER_01: Am I describing anybody here today?
SPEAKER_01: I had you underline the reference to the Garden of Eden.
SPEAKER_01: He said, What is he talking about in this illusion of the Garden of Eden?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he's saying.
SPEAKER_01: He's going, You're going to be just like Adam, cast out of your position of leadership because of your sin.
SPEAKER_01: Now you read those verses, and with the language here, it's uh it's very easy to see why many people point to this passage and say, Well, that's that's a passage about Satan.
SPEAKER_01: And uh you may be sitting there going, Well, Nick, is the passage about Satan or is it not about Satan?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I would tell you at the very least, everybody with me, at the very least, we see the satanic influence through the ambition of this wicked king.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I I think you look at both of these passages, both of these kings, and you see it's about kings, but it's ultimately about how ambition of satanic proportion can ruin you in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Now, let me help you understand the Bible here, okay?
SPEAKER_01: We'll do a little like a little Bible teaching of how to study the Bible moment here.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I have glasses on today.
SPEAKER_01: There's been a hair on them.
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad I could blow that off because it's bothered me the whole sermon.
SPEAKER_01: Um so these these are my glasses.
SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll call them this is reading scripture in context.
SPEAKER_01: This is context, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Context matters.
SPEAKER_01: Um when you read the Bible, you need to ask this who is writing this passage?
SPEAKER_01: Who is this passage to?
SPEAKER_01: What are they writing about?
SPEAKER_01: What is this chapter about?
SPEAKER_01: What are the surrounding verses about this actually speaking about?
SPEAKER_01: So, for instance, like if you just cherry pick a verse out of the Bible, out of context, with no context whatsoever, you begin to misinterpret the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Case in point, let me give you one of the most uh famous verses of all time.
SPEAKER_01: Philippians 4 13.
SPEAKER_01: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
SPEAKER_01: The favorite verse of every athlete who has ever lived.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Because they they what do they do?
SPEAKER_01: They cherry pick it and say, I can do all things through Christ.
SPEAKER_01: I can bench 300 pounds, I can make the three-pointer, I can hit a home run, I can throw the touchdown.
SPEAKER_01: So I can do all things through Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So they they write Philippians 4 13 on their baseball bat or on you know what on their cleats.
SPEAKER_01: And okay, I mean I'm all I'm pro-scription, so however we get it out there, let's get it out there.
SPEAKER_01: But when you when you read Philippians in context, and when you look at Philippians chapter 4 specifically, I'm gonna shock you with this.
SPEAKER_01: Philippians chapter 4 is not about sports.
SPEAKER_01: Shocker, right?
SPEAKER_01: You know what Philippians chapter 4 is about suffering.
SPEAKER_01: It's a big downer for some of you today who got it written on the side of your car, Philippians 4.13.
SPEAKER_01: Alright.
SPEAKER_01: You know the passage actually means more when you read it in context.
SPEAKER_01: Paul's walking through how he's walking through suffering in his life, and then he gets to verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: You can imagine him in the ancient days writing this passage, and he's like, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
SPEAKER_01: You know what he's saying?
SPEAKER_01: I can endure anything that comes my way because of the power of Christ in my life.
SPEAKER_01: It means more, does it not?
SPEAKER_01: Than a three-pointer.
SPEAKER_01: That that is the context of the scripture.
SPEAKER_01: So, so take take this in point.
SPEAKER_01: Our passages today.
SPEAKER_01: Context.
SPEAKER_01: It's about two kings who have satanic ambition in their life, and understanding that, then we get to you.
SPEAKER_01: What does this mean for your life?
SPEAKER_01: If you try to apply the Bible outside of context, you interpret, you misinterpret the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, when you put the context of scripture on first, and then you read it within how it's supposed to be read, then it actually means more to you, and you understand it rightly.
SPEAKER_01: And so here's what it says you begin with them.
SPEAKER_01: Who is writing?
SPEAKER_01: Who are they writing to?
SPEAKER_01: What was going on at that time?
SPEAKER_01: What is the context of the chapter?
SPEAKER_01: What are the two or three verses before?
SPEAKER_01: What are the two or three verses after what I'm reading?
SPEAKER_01: And in that you find the you.
SPEAKER_01: So them to you, them to you, them to you.
SPEAKER_01: So let's do that now.
SPEAKER_01: We've talked about the them, who the king of Babylon and Tyre were, what the judgment of God was upon them.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's talk about you.
SPEAKER_01: Of what does this actually mean for your life?
SPEAKER_01: And so let's talk about this, and we'll kind of start to round third base and hud home with this.
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about satanic ambition versus sacred ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Satanic ambition versus sacred ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Can I ask a question?
SPEAKER_01: How do you know when ambition crosses the line?
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are here and you're a leader in your context of business or whatever vein of life you're in, you're a coach, you're a teacher, you're whatever.
SPEAKER_01: Whatever you do.
SPEAKER_01: You're in government work, and uh and you you do that.
SPEAKER_01: Like you're a leader, you are driven, and this message scares you a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: Like, is now a good time to get up and go to the bathroom or refill my coffee?
SPEAKER_01: But there are others of you who who it does give a caution to, but in a godly manner, of like, well, hey, I'd I am a super driven person.
SPEAKER_01: I want to be aware of the potholes that I could I could fall into.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna back up and I want to do this right.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I think the wickedness of these two kings clearly shows us some lines that we are not to cross.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to think about this, like in the context of like a tree and a root system, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Um, Meredith is from like central Florida, my wife.
SPEAKER_01: And so don't think beach, think cow pastures.
SPEAKER_01: She was raised on about 200 acres on a cattle ranch.
SPEAKER_01: And so on on that cattle ranch, they have these massive oak trees that are just huge, and it has the Spanish moss that comes out.
SPEAKER_01: So it's like a beautiful area of the country.
SPEAKER_01: Well, when we were in college, they got hit like I think it was maybe three hurricanes in a row, back to back to back hurricanes.
SPEAKER_01: And uh, and you have some of these massive oak trees in the pasture where the cows are that literally just toppled over.
SPEAKER_01: And to this day, 20 years later, they're still on their side, and you can still see like the giant root system, like a circle that once held the trees in until it could hold them no longer.
SPEAKER_01: And so I want you to think about ambition, kind of like a root system.
SPEAKER_01: Some of it's visible to see, and some of it's under the surface.
SPEAKER_01: So sometimes you you can identify things clearly and like, okay, that's a problem.
SPEAKER_01: That that's a root that doesn't need to be there.
SPEAKER_01: And then other times it's more deceptive and it's under the surface, or it's under the surface of a friend or family member that you have, and it's a it's a covered ambition.
SPEAKER_01: It's there, you just don't know that it's there.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm gonna I'm gonna give you two examples of satanic ambition, two examples of sacred ambition, and then we're gonna be done.
SPEAKER_01: All right, number one, let's talk about satanic ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Here's how I think we could uh describe this biblically it is a self-exaltation through pride.
SPEAKER_01: Self-exaltation displayed through pride.
SPEAKER_01: If you take both of these kings and you topple them over like those trees, and you look at their root systems, what are they rooted in?
SPEAKER_01: Self exaltation.
SPEAKER_01: These are prideful men who wanted to lift themselves up.
SPEAKER_01: What's at the root of that?
SPEAKER_01: A desire to exalt.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, by the way, it's Very normal to everyone of us who are hearing my voice today, including the preacher.
SPEAKER_01: It is a very natural thing for you to want to stand up and what am I doing?
SPEAKER_01: Notice here what I'm doing for the company right now?
SPEAKER_01: It's very common for you, you don't want to raise up as a mom or dad.
SPEAKER_01: Do you see what my kids are doing?
SPEAKER_01: How great athletes they are?
SPEAKER_01: And and and whatever context it is, what we want to be noticed, we desire to be noticed.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone with me besides a preacher today?
SPEAKER_01: Like it feels good when people say good things about us, right?
SPEAKER_01: And if that's not, if that like crosses a line, it turns into like, man, I love this.
SPEAKER_01: I want to be exalted all the time.
SPEAKER_01: Like, for instance, anybody know a one-up guy?
SPEAKER_01: This is the guy who you work with, maybe it's a girl who uh, no matter what vacation you just got back from, they already went there.
SPEAKER_01: And they went somewhere better.
SPEAKER_01: They stayed better than a hotel and they got pictures to prove it.
SPEAKER_01: This is the person who cannot stand to have a conversation where they're listening to people talk about somebody else, and so they're constantly interjecting themselves in there and talking about how they did it better one time, and one time I did this in business, one time I did this trip, and and and that's a one-up guy, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, don't you love the one-up people in your life?
SPEAKER_01: It's just such a blessing, right?
SPEAKER_01: Um, I I was a child of the 90s.
SPEAKER_01: Well, the child is of the 90s, raise your hand.
SPEAKER_01: Praise God.
SPEAKER_01: All the godly people, I see you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So, what that means is I was raised on some Disney VHS.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't know what VHS is, it's a different sermon altogether for different sermon series, even.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: But man, I I would wear out some of these old Disney movies.
SPEAKER_01: And one of my favorites back in the day was Beauty and the Beast.
SPEAKER_01: Remember that?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you got the cartoon animated version, then they I think they made a more realistic version, and then you can go see it on Broadway type of stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And so uh I I love this movie, and I would watch it again and again again.
SPEAKER_01: Do you remember who the villain is in Beauty and the Beast?
SPEAKER_01: Gaston, right?
SPEAKER_01: Gaston is a one-up guy to the max.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Do you remember these lyrics?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you see his picture out there?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just a great guy, right?
SPEAKER_01: You remember this?
SPEAKER_01: No one's slick as Gaston, no one's quick as Gaston, no one's neck as incredibly thick as Gaston.
SPEAKER_01: For there's no man in town half as manly, perfect, a pure paragon.
SPEAKER_01: You can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley, and they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on.
SPEAKER_01: No one's been like Gaston, a kingpin like Gaston, no one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston as a specimen.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I'm intimidating.
SPEAKER_01: My what a guy that.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, that was weak.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: It's funny, on my way up here, uh driving from Springdale um to Pinnacle, um uh Jordan Grizzard, our worship pastor, he texts me up here and he was like, dude, he and Kayla, his wife, are big into theater, done theater, and still do it today.
SPEAKER_01: And uh he said, dude, guest on is my dream roll.
SPEAKER_01: Dream roll.
SPEAKER_01: I mean you can kind of see it, can't you?
SPEAKER_01: In fact, do y'all want to make his dream come true right now?
SPEAKER_01: Dyke, why don't you give me that microphone?
SPEAKER_01: Jordan, come up here.
SPEAKER_01: I think come on, I've got the lyrics right here.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you got you got a mic?
SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's go to his mic, not Deitch's mic.
SPEAKER_01: See, he's always ready.
SPEAKER_01: He's ready for these.
SPEAKER_01: Come on up for the real.
SPEAKER_01: Now, don't play it cool here.
SPEAKER_01: Like, give us the real guest on.
SPEAKER_01: Like it's a dream roll.
SPEAKER_01: If this was you, Broadway is cold, and these are the words.
SPEAKER_02: Are you Lafu?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_02: That's the only way this works.
SPEAKER_01: No, dude.
SPEAKER_01: All right, way cooler than LaFoo.
SPEAKER_02: He only takes a few lemons.
SPEAKER_03: Um that's the that's it, that's it.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, there you go.
SPEAKER_01: That is that's good.
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, man.
SPEAKER_01: Now, all of us we look at this guy, and if you're familiar with the movie, you're like, I can't stand that guy.
SPEAKER_01: That's a cartoon.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, I want to punch the screen right now, just looking at Gaston, right?
SPEAKER_01: Here, let me let me bring him back to spiritual things.
SPEAKER_01: Um, how many of you, without even realizing it, are like Gaston?
SPEAKER_01: Let's even throw that aside.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to these kings.
SPEAKER_01: How many of us have roots that are really not healthy and that are that are self-exalting roots, that are prideful roots again and again and again?
SPEAKER_01: We we long to be recognized, we long to be noticed in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I tell you: whenever you and I seek to exalt ourselves, we are living with satanic ambition.
SPEAKER_01: We have bought into the lie that God is not in control of lifting me up, but I am in control of it, so I have to do certain things for God and others to notice me.
SPEAKER_01: It's never good.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the second thing about satanic ambition: it is selfish gain at the expense of others.
SPEAKER_01: This is the life of the king of Tyre.
SPEAKER_01: Through violence, he took what he wanted.
SPEAKER_01: And uh, while you may not gain things by violence, you're like, Well, I'm not a violent person.
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask it to you in a different way.
SPEAKER_01: Are do you use people to make yourself look better?
SPEAKER_01: Is your family who are the ones who are always having to pay?
SPEAKER_01: Is there a trail of dead bodies behind your career progression?
SPEAKER_01: Said simple, satanic ambition is this all about me, all about me to the neglect of others.
SPEAKER_01: All about me to the neglect of others.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Let's wrap up with this sacred ambition.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what it is it is a God exaltation displayed through humility.
SPEAKER_01: It's a God exaltation displayed through humility, satanic ambition centered on self.
SPEAKER_01: Sacred ambition centered on the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: You said when I what is uh what is a a mark of someone who exalts God with their life at every turn?
SPEAKER_01: You know what it is?
SPEAKER_01: Very simple humility.
SPEAKER_01: They're humble in their interactions with others, they're humble about their successes, they're humble in their relationship with the Lord, they constantly defer credit.
SPEAKER_01: I've said it this way, you can either be a glory acceptor or a glory deflector.
SPEAKER_01: Uh they're not worried about lifting themselves up, they they just trust the Lord to lift them up.
SPEAKER_01: Is this not what Jesus told his own disciples?
SPEAKER_01: Remember what the word was?
SPEAKER_01: Whoever exalts himself will be what?
SPEAKER_01: Will be humbled, and whoever exalts himself, excuse me, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
SPEAKER_01: One of the principles, if you uh if you hear this message, you're like, Nick, I want to get it right.
SPEAKER_01: Like I really sincerely do want to get it right.
SPEAKER_01: I'm a driven person, I'm a leader, like I want to get things done, I want to make a difference in my in my business, I want to make a difference in the world, I want to make a difference in my family.
SPEAKER_01: Like, what is the what is the safeguard in your life to not cross the line?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what it is very simple principle.
SPEAKER_01: Get low.
SPEAKER_01: Just get low.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean get low?
SPEAKER_01: Get low before the Lord in humility?
SPEAKER_01: Get low before others in humility.
SPEAKER_01: This is our sacred ambition to get low before the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Think about it this way.
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm on my knees right now.
SPEAKER_01: An example of getting low.
SPEAKER_01: We often want to do this.
SPEAKER_01: We want to get up on them on tiptoes, right?
SPEAKER_01: Hey everybody, notice me right now.
SPEAKER_01: Give me some credit, give me some good words about me, and we just want to be noticed by everybody, and God just operates in a different realm altogether.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the second thing about uh sacred ambition.
SPEAKER_01: It's a kingdom gain for the sake of others.
SPEAKER_01: You say, What do you mean by kingdom gain?
SPEAKER_01: It means this any gain in your life is viewed through how can I how can I affect the kingdom of God?
SPEAKER_01: You begin to view your life and your gifting through the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: You begin to use your influence for the kingdom of God, you begin to think about your things like money and possessions through the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: Your entire life becomes one of service to the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_01: Tim Keller, who's now has gone on to be with the Lord, he once said this to be a Christian is to be called into a life of greatness, but not the greatness of fame, the greatness of service.
SPEAKER_01: Every one of us in this room wants to be great.
SPEAKER_01: It's not all bad.
SPEAKER_01: Great moms and dads, great student, great athlete, great in your profession.
SPEAKER_01: Sacred ambition is this all about God, all about other people.
SPEAKER_01: All about the Lord, all about other people.
SPEAKER_01: That is greatness in the kingdom of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just asked you a question today, and because of the root thing, because some of these are under the surface, only you can really answer it.
SPEAKER_01: Are you living according to sacred ambition or satanic ambition?
SPEAKER_01: Like, for instance, you know, I I just told you a moment ago that the safeguard in your life of not crossing over the line that you need to don't need to cross over, like when when does the secular, when does the ungodly, like, where's the line that crosses over between sacred and satanic?
SPEAKER_01: Um the safeguard towards not crossing the line is once again, it's just getting low.
SPEAKER_01: Just getting low.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think there's power, and I say this to you from time to time.
SPEAKER_01: I think there's power when your physical posture matches your spiritual posture.
SPEAKER_01: And I I think that about this portion of the service, like the invitation, I think it's always helpful to take a step.
SPEAKER_01: I've just seen it countless times in my own life when God's moved in my heart and I I moved, I did something, or I got on my knees, or I I, you know, obeyed the Lord that afternoon.
SPEAKER_01: Like when I when I did something posture-wise, it uh it just kind of cements what's going on in your life.
SPEAKER_01: But what I would say is this is uh I just want to ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Like, when's the last time you got low before the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Like, when's the last time here at church that you hit your knees at the altar?
SPEAKER_01: When's the last time in your own time with the Lord at home, your knees hit the side of the bed?
SPEAKER_01: There's something about being on your knees, and I'm I'm doing it so I can I can testify.
SPEAKER_01: It's not comfortable.
SPEAKER_01: Like my knees hurt right now as I speak this.
SPEAKER_01: So there's an uncomfortability to it.
SPEAKER_01: There is a vulnerability of like, I am I'm doing the opposite of stepping on my tippy toes, right?
SPEAKER_01: I'm like vulnerable.
SPEAKER_01: If you came up here and pushed me, I would just fall over.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna I'm in a vulnerable spot right here.
SPEAKER_01: I am not claiming superiority, I am claiming humility here.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just want to ask you like, when's the last time you humbled yourself before the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: When's the last time you got low before the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: For some of you, that that may need to happen in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: For others of you, God's working on an area of your life that uh tomorrow at the office, you need to get before get low before the Lord, whatever that looks like.
SPEAKER_01: And so I just want to move us into a time of invitation.
SPEAKER_01: I want you just to bow your head and close your eyes.
SPEAKER_01: Our staff's gonna make their way to the front of each aisle, and we're gonna open up this all this altar just as an opportunity for us to get low before the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And uh I just want to tell you this: you never go wrong humbling yourself before God.
SPEAKER_01: At any time, at any place, you never go wrong humbling yourself before the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And so I wonder who here today just has a desire.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I don't want to be ruled by any wrong ambition.
SPEAKER_01: I just want to be low before you.
SPEAKER_01: And I just want to come and just come to the altar and just get on my knees.
SPEAKER_01: Say, Lord, I'm intentionally humbling myself and I'm getting low before you.
SPEAKER_01: Would you come?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've heard what we've talked about today and you've noticed elements that are under the surface.
SPEAKER_01: You may think to yourself, Man, I I've been ruled by pride in some areas, or I've I long for recognition sometimes, and I try to take things in my own hands.
SPEAKER_01: God's doing a work in your heart.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna ask you to come.
SPEAKER_01: Just get on your face before the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're here and you find yourself in a situation where you don't know what else to do.
SPEAKER_01: Other than you just know you can humble yourself before the Lord and ask for his help.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna ask you to come.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're here today and you've never trusted Christ.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna invite you just to make your way to one of these men or women.
SPEAKER_01: And uh you come to the altar.
SPEAKER_01: And all you gotta say is this to them just say, Hey, I need to give my life to Christ today, and we'll lead you to faith in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Whatever God's doing in you, I'm gonna encourage you.
SPEAKER_01: This is the time, this is the moment here to make it right before the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Lord Jesus, we trust in you to move in ways that only you can.
SPEAKER_01: And uh, Lord, I pray that we would get low before you, we would humble ourselves before you.
SPEAKER_01: And it's the name of Jesus that we pray.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: If you have questions about what you have heard or would like more information about your relationship with Jesus, please email us at info at crosschurch.com or visit our website at crosschurch.com.
SPEAKER_00: At Crosschurch, our mission is to reach Northwest Arkansas, America, and the world for Jesus Christ.